In September 2016 I went to Asia for the first time. Unlike most people, my first trip to Asia wasn’t to Thailand or Indonesia. I opted for Nepal because I grew up in a family that loves hiking and mountaineering. Here we would be able to do lots of hiking, surrounded by the highest mountains on the planet. Since we were only staying in Nepal for 18 days we didn’t go to Annapurna Base Camp or Everest Base Camp. Instead, we decided to do the Poon Hill Trek. If you’re thinking about doing this trek yourself, you can hopefully find an answer to all your questions here.
Poon Hill Trek Map (credits to https://sightdoing.net)
Where does the Poon Hill Trek start?
The gateway to the Poon Hill Trek is a small town called Nayapul. You can reach Nayapul by taxi from Pokhara (about 30 min flight from Kathmandu). The ride to Nayapul takes about 1.5 hours, so take this into account when you’re making your way over there.
How long does the trek take?
If you want to do the Poon Hill Trek, it will take you four to five days. You will be walking from village to village. Most people start in Nayapul and then make their way over to Ghorepani. We, however, decided to do the hike in the opposite direction. This meant the trails would be less crowded.
Do you need to hire a guide?
When we were hiking, we noticed that every other group we ran into was accompanied by a guide. However, we felt like it wasn’t necessary to bring a guide. If you have done lots of hikes before and are an experienced hiker, you don’t really need to hire a guide. The trails are well indicated and the hike is never dangerous. However, if you have no experience with hiking at all, it might be wise to bring a guide along.
What do you need to bring?
It’s not necessary to bring special equipment when doing the Poon Hill Trek. There’s no need for helmets or ropes. Just bring enough clothes (you will be hiking for 4-5 days after all) with you. Along the trail you will bump into plenty of villages where you can buy something to drink or eat. They all serve several types of warm meals so you’ll never go hungry!
Day 1: Nayapul to Ghandruk
Since we went to Nepal during the Monsoon, it was raining cats and dogs when we arrived at Nayapul. After waiting until the skies cleared a bit, we decided to start our hike. Be advised that you need a permit to do the Poon Hill Trek. We got ours through the owner of the homestay we were staying at in Pokhara. Also, you need a TIMS card if you’re planning on hiking in Nepal, so make sure you get your hands on one of those too.
From Nayapul you have to walk to Birethanti where they will check your permit and allow you to start your hike. This is also where you can either opt to go left and head towards Ghorepani, or go right and make your way over to Ghandruk. We took a right and started the seven hour long hike in the direction of Ghandruk. The first part of the hike was quite boring. We were walking on an unpaved, dirt road for about an hour before the road suddenly changed into about a million steps (or at least that’s what it felt like). In the meanwhile it had stopped raining and it became extremely humid and warm. If you’re not used to humidity like this, I warn you: you will sweat. A LOT.
Be prepared for thousands of steps. Your knees will most likely hurt by the time you arrive at the outskirts of Ghandruk. Does this mean the hiking is finally over and you can relax immediately? No… When you arrive at the sign “Welcome to Ghandruk”, you still have to conquer several hundred steps before reaching the first hotels. You will find several hotels scattered all around Ghandruk. If you feel like you can still manage to add a couple more steps to the total, I would advise you to go to a hotel higher up the hill. This means less steps for day 2!
Total elevation: 990 meters (from Nayapul – 1010m to Ghandruk – 2000m)
Total hiking time: 7 hours
Day 2: Ghandruk to Deurali
On day 2 we left from Ghandruk to head in the direction of Deurali. Be aware that if you’re hiking Poon Hill during the monsoon, there will be leeches everywhere. It’s impossible to feel them, you will only notice once you’re already bleeding. They’re also tiny, so not that easy to spot.
While during the first day you’re walking through rice fields, the second day, you’ll feel like you’re walking in the jungle. At one point we even spotted baboons! This really made me realise I was no longer hiking in Europe. You will pass by beautiful waterfalls, but once again, you will have to mount A LOT of steps.
After hiking for about 8 hours, we decided to call it a day in Deurali. Be aware that Deurali is an extremely small village. You won’t be able to choose from twenty different hotels. In Deurali there is only 1 hotel with about 20 rooms. Also, the rooms don’t have any electricity and basically only have 2 beds and a small table. There is also no private bathroom (unlike in Ghandruk). If you want to shower, they will send you to a small shed where they’ve installed a hose. Don’t expect anything fancy at all, it’s very “back to basics”.
In Deurali you can also get a beautiful view on the Himalayas from the Watch Tower. This tower is located a bit higher up than the lodges. You have to walk for about thirty minutes to reach it, but the view is so worth it. And so were the 20 leeches which had found their way to my legs (through my pants and shoes!).
Total elevation: +/- 600 meters
Total hiking time: 8 hours
Day 3: Deurali to Ghorepani
Because we had hiked a bit longer on day 2, the 3rd day of the trek didn’t take as long. During this stretch we, once again, spent a lot of time walking in the forest. Only every now and then we rose above the trees and got to see a bit more of the surrounding area. In the afternoon we arrived at Ghorepani. It was clear this was a much more touristic area than Deurali. You will be spoilt for choice when looking for a hotel here.
We chose to check in at Hotel Superview, a beautiful and spacious hotel with amazing views on the Himalayas. Once again, we didn’t have a private bathroom, but there were 2 big bathrooms per floor which you could use.
Total elevation: +/- 400 meters
Total hiking time: 3 hours
Day 4: Poon Hill and Hille
On day 4 we were finally going to see what we came for: Poon Hill. This meant we already had to get up at 4:45 AM (what an ungodly hour!). However, if you want to see the sun set over the Himalayas, you sometimes have to make sacrifices.
Together with hundreds of other people, we started ascending the stairs in the darkness. After about an hour we arrived at Poon Hill, only to realise we couldn’t see any of the mountains because of the fog and clouds. Every once in a while we could spot a tiny little bit of the mountains. After waiting for about an hour, we realised we were most likely not going to see much of the Himalayas. However, normally you should get a spectacular view here.
Luckily, by the time we arrived at the hotel, we got to see the Annapurna South and Annapurna I. We decided to rest a bit more before starting our hike back to Nayapul. I feel like I’m repeating myself a lot, but once again there were several thousands of steps we had to conquer. Because our knees were screaming to be put out of their misery, we decided to stay in Hille that night.
Total elevation: +/- 400 meters (to Poon Hill), 1300 meters (from Ghorepani to Hille)
Total hiking time: 1 hours (to Poon Hill), 5 hours (from Ghorepani to Hille)
Day 5: Hille back to Nayapul
The last day of the Poon Hill Trek was quite calm and easy. We left from Hille and walked all the way back to Nayapul. The final part only took us about 3 hours.
Total elevation: +/- 400 meters
Total hiking time: 3 hours
If you have any more questions about doing the Poon Hill Trek, please feel free to leave a message!
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